A president who has been pondering that question for a while might find the best answers by consulting what just went on in the campaign

He should not be afraid to consider the hopes and expectations of the people who voted for him since he offered his supporters both explicit and implicit promises. But he should also think about the worries of those who voted against him. It turns out that the two groups have more in common than we (or they) might imagine.

And Obama doesn’t have to do anything at all to profit from the enormous, well, gift he was given by Mitt Romney when his erstwhile opponent explained his defeat by referring to the “extraordinary financial gifts from the government” that Obama allegedly handed out to his “base.”

Because so many Republicans felt compelled to renounce Romney’s alibi, they had to break with the talk-show far right that actually sees the election just this way. In principle, at least, Republicans had to say they accept the idea that government measures aimed at lifting up a variety of Americans are not bribes for particular groups of “takers.”